Gang Warfare
by cheri1
Summary: 10/Rose. A year after fighting Cassandra on New Earth, the Doctor and Rose return and get caught up in a gang war between humans and cats.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

She could smell the familiar scent as soon as the Doctor opened the front door. The sweet aroma of apple grass filled the room and Rose's mind was instantly flooded with memories of their last visit here. She closed her eyes, sniffing the pleasant odor, enjoying the mental picture of her and the Doctor lying on his coat in the grass while they looked at the hover cars flying over their heads.

"You gonna stand there and sniff the air or are you actually gonna go outside?"

Rose opened the eyes and saw the Doctor leaning against the ramp railing with an amused look on his face. She smiled.

"I was just smelling the grass and remembering," she said, walking towards him, "remembering the last time we were here."

"I gathered that, but you know the whole purpose of landing somewhere is to get out and explore, not to stand here in the TARDIS and stare out the door, so come on!"

He put his arm around her shoulders and they stepped outside. It was a bright sunny day on New Earth. Rose noticed that they had landed in almost the same spot and she smiled while she watched the hover cars zooming overhead. Now that they were outside, the apple grass scent filled her nostrils. Contained within the pungent odor were tiny hints of exhaust from the flying cars and the familiar, comforting scent of the Time Lord standing behind her. She felt him put his arms around her and she leaned back into him.

"Beautiful," she whispered.

"Yes, very beautiful."

Rose looked up at him and noticed he was staring right at her. Smiling, she stroked his cheek and he held her tightly against him. Feeling completely at peace, she gazed at the city. Then, her eyes were drawn to the familiar grey building with the green moon on the side and she began to feel nauseous.

"Doctor," she said, pointing to it.

"I know," the Doctor said, tersely, "but, unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it, not without creating a paradox. As much as I'd like to go over there and shut those underground labs down today, we have to ignore it and just concentrate on having a nice time in New, New York."

He walked around her and took her hand.

"Come on, let's get a ride into the city," he said.

He led her to the edge of the hill. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small flat disc, aimed it at the cars, and turned it on. Rose watched as a blue light in the center of it flashed on and off. A few minutes later, a yellow hover car stopped and slowly descended in front of them. Rose noticed that the words, New, New York Taxi Service was painted on the door. The Doctor turned off the disc and stuck it back in his coat pocket. He and Rose walked around to the passenger side. The driver was a balding, middle-aged man wearing a red jumpsuit with a yellow TAXI patch on the left side just below his shoulder. He lowered the window.

"Where to, buddy?" he asked.

"We want to go into the city; do you know any good touristy places?" the Doctor asked.

The man scratched his cheek while he thought.

"Could take ya to downtown, there's shops, and restaurants, and museums there."

"Sounds good, take us there."

"Hop in," the man said, hooking his thumb at the back seat.

The Doctor grabbed the door handle and lifted the door up. He ushered Rose inside, slid in, and slammed the door down. The driver pushed a button on the dashboard, activating the meter. Then, he quietly watched the readout on the dashboard. The Doctor and Rose saw the words, SAFE TO ASCEND, appear on it and the man put the car into gear, rose up into the sky, and flew off towards the city.

The Doctor settled back in the seat and smiled when he noticed Rose's face was pressed against the window, watching the view. He let out a soft sigh, staring at her backside.

_My precious Rose._ He thought to himself. _If you could only see what I see. If only you could see the storm that's looming on the horizon, threatening to tear us apart. How little time there is left for us. This anniversary might be our last, which is why I insisted we do this. I want to give you as many happy memories as I can before we are parted forever._

He laid his hand on her back, making a mental imprint of it that would last forever. Rose turned her head and smiled.

"Not gonna look out the window like a typical tourist?" she teased.

The Doctor smiled at that.

"Nah, not interested, I've seen stuff like this before," he said, casually.

Rose leaned into him.

"If you've seen it all before, then why are we coming here?" she asked, "why not take me somewhere where you won't be bored out of your mind?"

"I won't be bored out of my mind the whole time we're here; I'm just not interested in watching buildings going by the window."

Rose giggled softly.

"You know, we could tell the driver to go out to the hospital, so we can find Cassandra and beat her up for a laugh."

"Hmmm, sounds tempting. I'd love to give that mouthy, vain flap of skin a savage beating, but…better not, paradox and all."

Rose stuck out her lower lip and pretended to pout. The Doctor stared at it and burned the image of her doing that into his memory. Then, with a wicked grin, he poked her in the side.

"Oi, cheeky!" Rose said.

She poked him back. The Doctor gave her an affronted look.

"Excuse me; did you just poke me, Rose Tyler?"

"Yeah, I did."

She poked him again and stuck her tongue between her teeth. Another thing that the Doctor stored away in his mind for safekeeping. His eyes widened when she poked him again.

Rose gasped when he grabbed the flesh on her upper arm and gave her a pinch.

"Ow, you little wanker," she said.

She pinched his cheek and with a devilish grin, ruffled his hair.

"Oi, keep your greasy ape fingers out of my fabulous doo!"

He reached down, grabbed the area below her knee, and squeezed it twice. Rose laughed, poked him in the chest and ruffled his hair some more.

"Quit that!"

"Oh, like anyone is gonna notice your hair is amiss, mister ruffley locks!" Rose teased.

The Doctor grabbed the end of her hair and gave it a sharp tug.

"Ow, you ass!" Rose said, poking him repeatedly in the side with her index fingers.

"Takes one to know one!" the Doctor taunted, forcing his fingers in her armpits.

He began to tickle her. As Rose howled with laughter, he looked over and noticed the odd look the cab driver was giving them. He broke off the assault and cleared his throat.

"Sorry, our teasing tends to spiral out of control sometimes," he said to the driver.

"Um…yeah…sure, buddy," the driver muttered.

The Doctor and Rose snickered when they noticed the guy was now quickly scanning the street below him so he could land and get them out of his cab. Rose leaned her head back against the Doctor's shoulder and giggled when he waggled his eyebrows at her. The driver shook his head. Looking down, he noticed a parking spot and quickly landed, so he could get the two loonies away from him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After paying the driver with his credit stick, the Doctor took Rose's hand and looked around.

"So, New, New, New, New, New, New, New, New, New, New, New, New, New, New, New York. Where should we go first?"

"Pick something."

"Um…I've only ever been to the hospital, Tyler, same as you. You do remember I told you a year ago that five billion and twenty three was the furthest I'd ever gone before."

"Well, then I s'pose we just walk around and find something then while we're waiting for trouble to happen," she said, shrugging.

The Doctor looked around and saw a huge, white domed building a block and a half away from them.

"That there looks kinda museum-y, let's go wreck that first," he said, pointing to it.

Rose scrutinized it.

"I don't know, that's kinda large. Shouldn't we wreck something a bit smaller and then work our way up to the big things?"

The Doctor grinned at that.

"Nah, aim high, that's my motto. Anyone can blow up a small structure; it takes a couple of pros to reduce a huge marble building to rubble in a short amount of time."

"Then, let's do what we do best and turn that building into a pile of pebbles."

"Lead the way, anarchist junior."

Rose laughed and tugged on his hand. A manic grin spread over the Doctor's face as the two of them took off running.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Dak was hidden in the shadows looking out of the alley at the building across the street. It was his turn to patrol the Black Cats turf, keeping an eye out for any NNY Disciples. It was a boring job and there were tons of other things he would rather be doing now, like playing hologames at home. But, he had sworn an oath to the Cats to protect their territory and keep it out of the hands of their rivals, the Disciples, the filthy human scum that would kill him and his fellow felines without a second thought. Looking down, he studied the small laser blaster clasped in his black, furry hand. He had just turned twelve and already the Pride Leader had entrusted him with this important task. It was the most responsibility he had ever had and he was determined not to let the pride down.

His eyes locked on a fellow Cat across the street. He stepped out of the shadows when his friend, Scratch, looked his way. He flashed him the gang sign. Fist raised to his chest with the index and ring finger extended. He smiled when Scratch quickly flashed the sign back to him and went on his way. Scratch was older than he was, in his twenties, and had been in enough battles to earn himself his pride name. Dak had only joined the gang, but already he longed for the day when he would prove himself to the pride and pick a name for himself. At the moment though, he was considered a cub, still being trained on the ins and outs of gang life by several older members, known in the gang as lions and lionesses. His day consisted of going out on hunts with them, watching while they peddled drug patches to people, checked on the prostitutes that were making credits for them or, if it was a really good day, shooting and killing some filthy Disciples who were stupid enough to cross their paths.

Being on the streets was a far cry from the suburbs where he had been raised, but the people he allied himself with cared about him far more than his family did. His parents both drank heavily and neglected him and his younger brother. Both of them were so drunk, they neither knew nor cared what he did or where he went. He had heard about the Black Cats and had finally gotten up the nerve to approach a gang member while he was doing drug deals on a street corner. The gang member, Howl, took him to see the Pride Leader, Shredder, an imposing cat with mottled fur, a muscular build, and a bad attitude. Shredder looked him over and allowed him to be initiated into the gang. The initiation consisted of several senior lions beating and clawing at him, until he made a gesture of submission. Then, he was welcomed into the gang as a cub, the lowest level. Since then, he had sold some drugs with Scratch and Howl and helped rough up a few whores who had gotten out of line, but he had yet to kill anyone. Killing someone was the first all-important step towards being a lion and Dak had an itchy trigger finger that wanted so badly to take out a Disciple. He had seen hits by other gang members several times since he had joined. Occasionally, an innocent bystander was caught and killed in the crossfire and Dak had been unnerved by the total lack of concern the other gang members had shown towards that. They, in turn, told him that in a war, there were always civilian casualties and war was what they were waging with the Disciples. Dak quickly learned to put these "civilian casualties" out of his mind and carry on with business as usual. Being a cub, it wasn't his place to question what the gang did and didn't do. His job was to be a pride member and obey the orders of the higher ups. The Pride Leader had ordered everyone to kill Disciples wherever they could find them and that's what he would do.

However, curiosity got the better of him and one day, he did ask Scratch why they were at war with the Disciples. Scratch snorted, rolled his eyes, and took a swig from his bottle of Cumina Rum while he began to rant and rave about the filthy humans. How they had come to New Earth years ago and took over their city, forcing the cats to live in the lower class neighborhoods. How the majority of the humans looked down on cat-kind and forced them into lower paying menial jobs while they lived in the suburbs and the ritzier areas of the city.

"We were the rightful owners of this planet until the humans came and swarmed all over the place!" Scratch said, disdainfully, "they landed here on Felinia fourteen years ago, renamed it New Earth without asking if it was okay with us, and renamed this city, New, New York. We had no say in anything they did; they just told our parents to vacate the nicer parts of the city and go live in skid row. We own this planet and we own this city! It's ours, and I say we take it back, any way that we can, and if that means we take out a few so-called innocent humans along with the Disciples, well, boo, hoo, hoo, too damn bad. Maybe if we kill enough of them, they'll get back in their spaceships and leave our kind the hell alone!"

He took another swig and stared off into space with bleary eyes. Dak sat beside him, quietly pondering his words. His family didn't live in the slums. They lived in the suburbs alongside other cats and humans. He had grown up playing with human children and several of his best friends were human. He had never felt oppressed or discriminated against. But then, he was a kid and he knew that the adult world worked in very different ways from the kid one. Perhaps he had been discriminated against and just didn't notice it. He knew about the humans landing on Felinia, his parents had mentioned it before, but they had never expressed any anger about it. In fact, the few times they had been sober enough to talk to their human neighbors, they had always been friendly with them. What Scratch was describing didn't fit what he had grown up with, but then again, Scratch had grown up in the city. Perhaps life in the city and suburbs was completely different, and he just didn't realize that. At any rate, he wasn't going to say anything like that to Scratch, he was angry enough as it was without him adding fuel to the fire.

He sighed and leaned back against a wall. Guard duty was incredibly boring. All he saw were average humans. Disciples wore red leather jackets and had NNYD and Disciples Forever tattooed somewhere on their bodies. He saw no one who fit that description. He was tempted to just give up and go back to the hideout, but he knew he would get a severe beating if he did that, so he forced himself to stay put.

His head jerked up when he heard insane giggling coming from across the street. He leaned up and watched a tall, thin human man and a blonde woman running up the stairs towards the Barksley Building. He shook his head while he watched the two of them giving playful swats on each other's bums. He had never seen two adults act this way, human or feline. They reminded him of little kids. Even more amazing, they didn't care that several people had stopped to look at them. Nope, they just ran up the steps, giggling and playfully shoving each other. The blonde reached the top step and stuck her finger in the thin man's face.

"Stop it and behave yourself in here, this is a public place!" he heard her say.

"So? The fact that it's public hasn't stopped me before," the man said, striding past her.

Dak watched while he grabbed the door and opened it for her.

"After you, madam!" he said, loudly.

The blonde went past him into the building. Suddenly, without warning, the man hauled off and smacked her butt. Dak giggled when the woman spun around and glared at him while he in turn gave her a look of complete innocence. He giggled harder when the woman covered her butt with her hands and went in backwards, keeping her eyes on him the whole time. An evil grin spread over the man's face and suddenly he took off after her. Dak heard the woman's loud laugh before the door closed behind them. He shook his head.

"Humans, go figure," he muttered to himself.

Suddenly, his eyes were drawn to two men standing by the steps of the building. Both men were wearing bright red jackets. Grinning, Dak readied his blaster and crept out of the alley.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Stop it, geez, you are worse than a kid, you are!" Rose said, as the Doctor continued to poke her backside.

She gasped when she felt the Doctor's cold finger in her armpit. She turned around and saw the same innocent look he had earlier.

"Wasn't me, whatever you're accusing me of," he said, shrugging.

He grinned when Rose blew air out of her lips, turned around and headed into the main part of the building. She opened a glass door and walked into a huge, well-lit lobby. She looked up and noticed that the ceiling was covered with some kind of ivy. The main part of it was clumped in the middle of the ceiling and then it spread out in all directions across the ceiling and down the walls. In the center of the room was a large, white marble fountain. The water that shot up from the center of it was at least fifteen feet high, and the sound it made was very soothing. Around the room were large plate glass windows that let in ample sunlight, making everything bright and cheery. On the other side of the room was a large white desk where a little elderly woman sat and filled out paperwork. She was wearing a somber grey suit and her equally gray hair was pulled back into a severe bun. A pair of spectacles that resembled the Doctor's was perched on the end of her nose and Rose couldn't help but think of a school teacher when she saw her. She beckoned to the 901-year-old kid behind her.

"Come along, Doctor. We'll go see the nice woman and ask where the museum is."

"Yes, mummy, can we get an ice lolly afters?"

He sniggered and poked her in the ribs when Rose let out an exasperated sigh.

"It's a good thing you're so cute, because I would be beating you up by now," she said to him.

"Well, it's good to know that my incredibly boyish good looks have saved me from many a pummeling. Knowing that now, I can torment you even more and get away with it."

He gave her another poke when Rose eyed him. She gave him a warm smile when he waggled her eyebrows at her and patted him on the cheek.

"Come along," she said.

"Yes, mummy."

Rose giggled. She didn't know what had caused the Doctor to be in such a good mood today, but she wasn't about to complain, especially since he had been so sullen and depressed ever since they returned from London, 2012. Since that time, she had barely been able to coax two words out of him, let alone ask him what he meant about a storm coming. The last time she had seen him that depressed had been his last life and the thought that her bouncy, bubbly Doctor was retreating back into that frame of mind terrified her, especially since she was used to his current personality. So, it was a huge surprise when the Doctor suddenly announced out of the blue that they needed to mark the one year anniversary of his tenth self and her being together. Rose, desperate to pull him out of his doldrums, readily agreed and since then, he had become his usual manic, silly self, which pleased Rose immensely.

But then again, there were moments when she'd wish he'd calm down, like right now, when he was poking her repeatedly in the small of her back while she was trying to talk to the receptionist.

The receptionist, meanwhile, was completely perplexed.

"Museum? What museum?" she was asking Rose.

"Isn't this a museum?"

The lady sighed and peered at her over her spectacles.

"No, young lady, it isn't. This is the Barksley Building."

"Which is…"

The woman looked insulted.

"Young lady, you don't know what the Barksley Corporation does?" she said in disbelief.

"You make dog collars?" the Doctor ventured.

The lady looked his way and glared at him over the top of his spectacles. Rose watched as he whipped his own spectacles out of his coat pocket, put them on, and peered back at her over the top of his.

"I take it from your reaction that my answer was incorrect," he said to her.

"Yes, it was!"

"Well, do you do something with dogs? You know, Barksley and all."

The woman was even more insulted.

"Benjamin Barksley is the esteemed founder of this company!" she said, angrily.

"Well, with a name like that, he needs to make things for doggies," the Doctor replied.

"He does not make things for doggies. He is the CEO of New Earth's largest pharmaceutical company!"

The Doctor's lips formed a silent O.

"Well, good for Benji boy."

He paused and poked Rose in the ribs.

"Hey…Benji…like the dog, get it?"

Rose bit her lip, holding in the laughter. The Doctor went back to engaging in the peer-down with the snooty receptionist.

"Well, like I said, good for old Barksley. Exactly what the world needs, more mind numbing and altering drugs that a lot of people don't need and will keep said people from reaching their full potential, not to mention keeping hypochondriacs from getting out of bed. Nice to know, there's one more fat cat getting rich off the doping of others."

He paused.

"Incidentally, is the man a cat? Because it would be pretty ironic for him to be a cat and have the last name, Barksley. I can just imagine the other cats kicking his arse on the playground for that. Although, it wouldn't be his fault, I guess, since he was born with the name…I'm assuming it's a boy? Don't know if Benjamin is a unisex name on this planet, but anyway, as I was saying…"

"Get out, before I have security throw you out!" the woman said, leaping from her seat.

The Doctor blinked.

"I'm sorry, was I breaking some kind of no rambling rule or something?"

"I am busy, sir, so take yourself and the young lady out of here before I call security and have you thrown out for bothering me!"

The Doctor's mouth dropped open.

"Well, I'm so sorry, miss high and mighty receptionist. Rose and I didn't mean to come in off the street and trouble you and your paperwork with our frivolous questions about museums. And, I'm terribly sorry that we misjudged this building and thought it was a museum, instead of a drug company. I guess stupid tourists like us should consult the guidebook more often and learn about the planet before stepping foot on it, then we wouldn't take up your oh so valuable time with our petty concerns. Forgive me, highness, us humble peasants will get out of your way now!"

The woman gritted her teeth while the Doctor grabbed Rose's hand, turned and walked back out the building.

"Come along, Rose, we'll find someone less pompous to direct us to some kind of cultural thing," he said to her, as he put his glasses back in his pocket.

They walked through both sets of doors and stepped outside. The Doctor paused just outside the building and looked around.

"Okay, now where is a policeman or someone who can direct us to a museum or something?" he said.

Suddenly, they heard terrified cries from the people walking in front of the building. All of them scrambled to get out of the way, and the Doctor and Rose saw a young cat running towards the building, firing a blaster at two people, with a murderous look on his face.

"Rose! Get down!" the Doctor screamed.

Without a thought for his safety, he raced towards the gunmen, trying to get the gun away from him before anyone was hurt or killed. He could see that both men had been shot point blank in the chest and abdomen and they were lying on the pavement, barely conscious. The black cat looked at the Doctor. He hissed and bared his fangs as he aimed the gun right at him. The Doctor lunged at him and grabbed his upper arms. The surprised cat reflexively fired off another shot, and the Doctor heard a sound that made his blood run cold.

Rose's scream.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

He turned his head and saw, to his horror, that she had ignored his command and had followed behind, intending to help. The laser bolt had hit her right in the stomach and she fell back onto the steps, a look of disbelief on her face.

The Doctor was so horrified, he offered no resistance when the cat wriggled free from his grip and ran off. Feeling like his Converses were made of lead, he stumbled up the steps toward her and gathered her into his arms. His anguished gaze swept over her and he felt bile rise in his throat when he saw the huge hole in her lavender t-shirt and the charred wound just underneath it.

With tears in his eyes, he looked at Rose's face.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, weakly.

The Doctor pushed her hair away from her face.

"It's alright, Rose. Everything will be all right. Just hold on for me, okay?"

Rose nodded weakly, staring up at him through half-closed lids. The Doctor took her hand and held it against his chest while he kept a protective watch on her.

After what seemed like ages, the Doctor felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked up and saw two men standing beside him. Both of them were dressed in white scrubs with a green moon embroidered on the scrub top pocket. They were both young, in their early twenties. One was a black man with a shaved head and the other was Caucasian with sandy blonde hair and green eyes. Each one carried a black briefcase in his hand.

"Sir," the Caucasian man said, "if you would move out of the way, we'll get your friend stabilized, and get her to the hospital."

"I'm going with her," the Doctor said, automatically.

He nodded.

"That's fine, sir. Now, please move."

The Doctor nodded. He kissed Rose's hand and gave it a squeeze while he gently slid her off his lap.

"Doctor!" Rose whispered, reaching out for him when he let go.

"It's alright, Rose. I won't go far," he said.

He stood beside the paramedics, watching them intently while they sat down on either side of her.

"Ma'am, can you hear me?" the Caucasian man asked.

"Yes," Rose whispered.

"What is your name?"

"Rose Tyler."

"Good, Rose. I'm Tom and this is Derek. We're gonna get you fixed up, so we can get you to the hospital, alright?"

"Doctor?"

"Yes, Rose, we'll take you to see a doctor."

"She means me, I think," the Doctor said, "I'm the Doctor."

Tom glanced up at him.

"Are you a medical doctor?"

"I'm a doctor of many things."

"Good, you can help us by keeping an eye on her on the way to the hospital."

"Trust me; I'm not letting her out of my sight for a moment."

The Doctor blinked in surprise when another paramedic ran up to Tom.

"Sorry, Tom, need to take some gauze from you. We just came back from a bad car wreck and we're all out."

Tom nodded and the man opened the case and grabbed a handful of gauze. The Doctor watched while he ran down the steps and realized that there was another team working on the two men. He had been so worried about Rose; he hadn't noticed them till now.

He looked back at the men who were taking Rose's vital signs. Derek was applying pressure to the wound while Tom wrote down the information on a sheet mounted on a clipboard. He winced when he saw Rose's agonized look when Derek pressed down on her stomach.

"Doctor?" Rose moaned.

"I'm here, Rose. I'm right here."

Rose turned her head and looked up at him. He forced a smile onto his face. His hearts soared when a weak smile formed on hers.

"Stop that, you're gonna make me laugh and it'll hurt worse," she said, weakly.

Tom and Derek looked at each other and grinned at that.

"Well, you know, Rose," Derek said, with a wink, "laughter is the best medicine."

"Well, the Doctor oughta be able to heal me in a day, then," she murmured.

They chuckled. Tom reached into his case and picked up a small jar. He opened the jar, got out a bit of ointment, and rubbed it on the wound.

"Derek, you wanna get the stretcher ready, while I finish this?"

"Yeah."

Derek stood up and ran down the steps while Tom finished applying the ointment.

"You two married?" Tom asked, nodding his head towards the Doctor.

"No, we're just friends."

Tom nodded.

"You from New, New York?"

"No."

"Tourists?"

"Yeah."

Tom grimaced.

"Bummer. You visit our fair city and end up getting shot. I gather you wanted a bit of excitement, but not this much excitement, right?"

Rose let out a weak laugh. Tom smiled and glanced up at the Doctor.

"Your bedside manner is fantastic," the Doctor said.

"Aw, thanks. Come from a long like of EMT's, actually. Four generations. So, I picked up a lot growing up."

The Doctor nodded and smiled. He glanced over when he noticed Derek coming up the steps, pulling the hover stretcher behind him. He stepped back and let him through.

"Okay, Rose, now comes the reeeeeeally unpleasant part, we have to move you," Tom said to her.

He positioned herself behind her head and grabbed under her armpits, while Derek wrapped his arms around her hips.

"Okay, Rose, count of three, you are going up and over onto the stretcher, alright?"

"Yes."

"Good."

He looked at Derek.

"1…2…3!"

Rose groaned softly when they picked her up and laid her on the stretcher.

"All done, Rose. You can relax now," Derek said.

He and Tom quickly packed up their equipment while the Doctor leaned down and took her hand.

"Don't leave me," Rose whispered.

"Never."

He kissed her hand and stood back up. Tom and Derek grabbed their briefcases with one hand and lifted up the stretcher with the other. They walked down the steps, the hover stretcher floating in between them. The Doctor followed behind, keeping a watchful eye on Rose. They walked down to a large white lorry that had a green moon painted on the side. The Doctor glanced around and noted that the two men and the other team were gone. Now there were just police officers standing around, interviewing witnesses. The Doctor sighed. He supposed when all this was over, he would have to make a statement. But, for the moment, all he cared about was Rose.

The men opened the back of the lorry. Tom climbed in and pulled the stretcher inside. Once Rose was secure, he hopped back out and nodded to the Doctor. The Doctor climbed inside and sat down beside Rose, as the paramedics closed the door. He leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"I'm sorry, Doctor. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you," Rose said, sadly.

"Shhh, it doesn't matter. What's done is done. All I care about is you getting better now."

He took her hand and held it against his chest. The paramedics got in the front and started up the ambulance. There was a slight shudder, and then he heard the siren wail, as the ambulance flew into the sky.

"I guess we'll get to see Cassandra, after all," she quipped.

"Ugh," the Doctor replied, rolling his eyes.

He turned his head when he heard Tom speaking to someone on his CB radio.

"New, New York General, this is ambulance 23. I have a female who suffered a blaster shot to her abdomen. We got her stabilized and we're bringing her in now. We need someone to be ready at the emergency room door to receive her. It'll be approximately ten minutes until we arrive."

"Copy that, 23," a woman replied, "we'll be standing by."

Tom smiled as he went around his seat with the clipboard and knelt beside Rose.

"Okay, we're about there, but I need to get more information for the nurses. Name is Rose Tyler, got that. Age?"

"20."

He wrote that down.

"Date of birth?"

Rose glanced up at the Doctor. Tom looked at her.

"Rose, when's your birthday?"

Rose did a quick calculation in her head.

"April 5th…um…four billion, nine million, nine thousand, nine hundred and...ninety five."

Tom glanced at her.

"You're only 19, then. Today is March 29th."

"Oh! Yeah, I'm 19. That's what I meant, sorry."

Tom chuckled.

"Perfectly understandable, given the situation. Now, what's your address?"

Rose stared at him while her mind tried to come up with something plausible.

"She lives with me," the Doctor said, "and our address is alpha, gamma, delta, delta, fourth quadrant, sixth zone, Andromedan Flood Plain, Andromeda."

"Oh, you're from Andromeda. Went there on holiday once. Lovely planet."

"Yes, it is," the Doctor replied.

"Okay, any allergies, Rose?"

"No," Rose said, relieved that she was back to questions she could answer truthfully.

"Do you have any insurance?"

"N…"

Rose started to say no, but the Doctor put his finger on her mouth.

"I have a Bailorkian medical plan, just use my number and I'll cover for her medical expenses."

Rose stared at him, wondering if he really did have this insurance. Tom wrote that down.

"And the number?"

"23-809-563012-9975"

Tom smiled.

"Good," he said, jotting it down.

The ambulance started to descend.

"Well, guess your ride is almost at an end, Rose. It was nice meeting you both."

"You too," Rose said, while the Doctor nodded.

He patted her on the shoulder and went back to his seat. Rose looked at the Doctor.

"You really have this insurance?" she asked.

"Actually, I do. Funny story. I was on Bailorkia and I happened to run into an insurance salesman on the bus. He did his whole boring, buy my insurance, please spiel, and I brought a basic medical plan to shut him up and keep him happy. I haven't had any use for it, of course. But, hey, might as well use it once and get my credit's worth."

The ambulance came to a stop. Tom came back around the chair and smiled at Rose.

"Good luck, Rose. I hope you heal up quickly," he said to her, as Derek opened the back doors.

"Yeah, me too," she replied.

The Doctor watched as the two of them guided the hover stretcher out. He waited until they were out, then he stood and went out the doors.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The Doctor gritted his teeth and tried to keep calm while he sat beside Rose in the hospital ward. They had put a healing salve on the wound and an IV in her arm that contained a purple chemical the nurses claimed would help her body fight off infection. But, after witnessing just how the Sisters of Plentitude came up with their cures, he wondered if that's all it did, and how many poor souls had died before they came up with it. Because that's why the Doctor was so edgy. Sitting in Ward 13, he knew that right beneath his feet at this very moment, hundreds of cloned human were languishing in their tiny prisons, unloved and untouched, infected with a thousand diseases, all for the good of the so-called "normal" humans. It made his blood boil. He glared silently at every sister that walked by, hating the benevolent looks on their faces. He had even seen Novice Haim briefly, although he had quickly turned his head to avoid eye contact with her. Mostly, he kept his eyes firmly fixed on Rose, lest he do something rash and cause a paradox.

Rose was sleeping peacefully. They had given her a sedative of some kind and she had been asleep for the past half hour. The Doctor had only left her side once, to go to the bathroom. He didn't want Rose to awaken and find herself alone. He had promised her, he wouldn't leave her side, and come hell or high water, he was going to keep it.

He gave a wary look to a sister when she walked to Rose's bedside to check on her. Thankfully, it wasn't Novice Haim. This cat was a calico. She smiled at the Doctor and the Doctor forced a polite smile onto his face. He jammed his hands under his butt when he felt the urge to rise up and throttle her. Sitting quietly, he kept his eyes on the sister while she checked the IV bag.

"Your friend is doing well," the cat said to him, "she'll make a full recovery."

"Good," the Doctor said, with as much politeness as he could muster. "I'm glad to hear that, sister…"

"Sister Salinas, sir," she said, nodding her head.

"Thank you, Sister Salinas. I appreciate you taking care of Rose for me."

"It is nothing, sir. We do what we can. And I have to say, this hospital is the most advanced healing facility in all of New Earth, your friend is very lucky to come here."

"Yes, she is…very lucky," the Doctor muttered.

Salinas smiled at him.

"Is there anything I can get you, sir?"

_Yes, you can shut down your inhumane labs and set your guinea pigs free._ The Doctor thought.

"Uh, no…" he said, aloud, "nothing for me, I'm fine."

Salinas nodded. With one last smile, she went to check on another patient. The Doctor clenched his jaw and let out an angry sigh, cursing himself for not going to a point in New Earth's history when the labs would have been shut down. But, then again, how was he to know he'd end up in the hospital with Rose. As he sat and stared at her, he suddenly wondered if Cassandra really was in the building and an insane thought about going down and checking popped into his head. He quickly dismissed it, reached out, and took Rose's hand. He noticed her skin was cold, but whether that was due to the trauma she had suffered, or the air-conditioning that was cooling the room, he wasn't sure. He clasped her hand in his, trying to warm it up. But, given that his own body temperature was cooler than the average human, his attempt wasn't very successful. Still, he hoped that Rose could at least feel his hands and be comforted.

He sighed softly. He had come so close to losing her today, too damn close. For one terrifying moment, he thought that they would be separated earlier than he anticipated and it brought home, once more, the stark reality that their relationship was on borrowed time. He wasn't sure exactly what the "storm" entailed, only that it was coming, and he was painfully aware that each moment could well be their last. A deep sadness washed over him, and he brought Rose's chilled hand to his lips, giving it a tender kiss. Even though he knew it was a losing battle, he was going to fight against the coming of the storm with every breath in his body. Rose might be taken from him, but he wasn't going to give her up unopposed.

He was so focused on Rose that he didn't realize that someone had come up beside him.

"Sir?"

The Doctor sighed. Another sister, no doubt. He turned his head and was surprised to see a human girl looking down at him. She was young, mid-twenties, with long brown hair that reached halfway down her back. Her blue eyes studied him, intently, and she extended a hand.

"Sir, I'm Melody Brannon, I'm with the New, New York Gang Rehabilitation Center," she said.

"I'm the Doctor," he said, shaking her hand.

"Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor."

She frowned.

"Gang name?"

The Doctor shook his head.

"No, that's just the name I go by," he said.

"Huh, odd choice of name. Still, I've heard odder names in my work. I gather that this young woman is Rose?"

"Yes, she is."

Melody pulled up a chair and sat down beside him.

"First off, I understand you and Rose are tourists, so I have to ask, have you heard of our organization before?"

"No, I haven't."

"Well, the Gang Rehabilitation Center is a not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to working with gang members, getting them off the streets and giving them resources to give them a second chance at a normal, legitimate life. That includes counseling, drug rehab, if they need it, and in some cases, protection from assassination from their own fellow gang members. Um, I've just been to see the two men who were involved in the gang hit--"

"How are they?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, one of them is going to recover, but the other one didn't make it," she said, sadly.

The Doctor shook his head.

"Senseless," he said.

"Yes, it is. it's very senseless, which is why I and a handful of others are wanting to stop the violence and give these gang members some hope of turning their lives around."

"Well, good for you. I'm glad you're brave enough to do that," the Doctor said.

"Thanks. I've had a couple of close friends who drifted into gangs and got killed in fly-bys. That's when I decided to help try to end it, so no more people would have to suffer and no more families would be torn apart by death."

The Doctor nodded.

"That's admirable, Miss Brannon, but Rose isn't in a gang."

"Oh, I know that. We also offer services for the victims of gang violence and I wanted to come up here to introduce myself and offer those services if Rose needs them. We have counseling, follow up medical care if she needs it, and we can put her in touch with aides who can run errands for her while she recovers. We also do offer rape counseling, pre-natal care, and parenting classes, but that's not something she would need."

"No, it isn't, thank God. Look, Miss Brannon--"

"Melody."

"Melody. Look, Melody. I appreciate the offer, but none of that is needed. I have the resources to care for her once she gets out of the hospital."

"Are you sure? I mean, all the services are free of charge."

The Doctor smiled.

"Thanks, but I'm very sure. I have ways of caring for her that would equal or surpass what you have, and believe it or not, this isn't the first time we've been through this kind of thing. In fact, we've been through a lot worse. Rose will recover mentally from this, I guarantee that."

"Really? What do you two do, if you don't mind my asking?"

"We travel. We're adventurers."

"Wow, that's neat. I've never met anybody who did that. I take it then, from what you're saying, that your adventures can get pretty perilous?"

"Oh, yes, very."

"Well, I'm sorry that your visit to New, New York was spoiled by this. The city really isn't that dangerous. Actually, the crime rate has gone down in the past couple of years. The main problem is the gangs. There are different gangs all over the city, but the biggest ones are the Black Cats and the NNY Disciples. Those are the two that were involved in the hit. The Black Cats are an all cat gang and the Disciples are all human. They've been fighting each other almost since the day the humans landed here on New Earth. The cats are resentful of the humans for taking over their planet and a large group of humans banded together and formed a gang for protection after they started going after them. Normally, the two gangs target each other, but it's not unusual for someone like Rose to be caught in the crossfire. Sad thing is, the Cats don't care who they get, as long as they're human."

"This Disciple that survived, is he conscious? Would he be able to talk to me?" the Doctor asked.

"He's been drugged up, kinda out of it, but he's awake, why?"

"Because I want to find out if he knows this cat that attacked them."

"Whoa, sir, I'd advise against that. Seeking revenge will only get you kill--"

"I'm not trying to get revenge. The cat that attacked that guy was very young, couldn't have been more than eleven or twelve."

"Then, he's what's known as a cub," Melody said, "the gang recruits them early, so I'm betting he's just joined."

"Then, perhaps he can still be helped, because I would love to see this gang war ended just as much as you do before others get hurt. I take it that this young cat has been ordered to kill the humans from other members higher up on the totem pole?"

"Yes, cubs are the lowest level; they have to do whatever the Pride Leader commands them to do. Killing someone is the way they reach the next level, which is lion for men and lioness for women. That is another incentive for them. The more people you kill, the more power and respect you gain. Not sure if this man will know him personally if he's just a cub, I'm sure that was probably his first hit."

"Well, I would like to talk to him, at any rate. I hate seeing young lives wasted, cat or human, and if there is something I can do to help make a dent in this gang war, I'd be more than happy to do it."

Melody shrugged.

"You can try to talk to him, Doctor, but I don't know if it'll do any good. My colleagues and I have been trying for years to stop the gang violence, and for every gang member we get through to and get off the streets, another one rises up to take his place. it's a never ending, bloody cycle."

The Doctor glanced at Rose.

"Well, perhaps I can help figure out a way to break that cycle for good before others get hurt or killed. Just take me to him while Rose is asleep and I'll try to see if I can get some information out of him."

Melody nodded.

"Follow me, then," she said.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The Doctor followed Melody into the lift. He didn't want to be gone too long. He had promised Rose he wouldn't leave her and the only reason he had agreed to do this was because she was sleeping at the moment. The lift went down to floor sixteen. The door slid open and they stepped out. The Doctor scanned the room. There were nuns everywhere, but no sign of Haim or Matron Casp, the two that the Doctor was concerned about interacting with. He wanted to make sure they were nowhere around. He didn't want to risk changing history in any way and creating a paradox.

Melody led him past several patients before stopping at a bed that was near an enormous plate glass window. The shooting victim was lying there and the Doctor got a closer look at him. He looked like he was in his early twenties, Caucasian with short, dark hair. Tattoos covered his arms. The Doctor could see NNY Disciples, a skull, and a bloody dagger. An IV was in his right arm dripping a reddish liquid into his arm. He was also on oxygen. Plastic tubing ran from the wall behind him into his left nostril. His eyes were half-open and unfocused. Melody walked towards him and the Doctor followed.

"James?" Melody said, touching his shoulder.

James turned his head slowly.

"Name's Meteor," he muttered.

She nodded.

"Meteor, I have someone here who wants to talk to you," she said. "His name's the Doctor."

"Doctor? Already seen the doctor," he mumbled.

"This man here, his name's the Doctor."

"Hello Meteor, I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor? That your Disciple name?"

"No, I'm not a gang member."

"Then, I have no business with ya, man."

"Well, that's a shame, because I have business with you."

Meteor glared at him.

"Are you the law?"

"No, I'm a tourist. My friend was shot, along with you and your friend. She's upstairs recuperating and I want some answers."

"Well, I don't know what to tell ya. I don't know nothin'"

"Who was that cat that gunned you down?"

"How should I know? He was a stinkin' Black Cat and as soon as I get outta here, I'm gonna find em and kill em."

"Yeah, and that'll just solve everything. I'm sure as soon as you kill him, all your troubles will be over, and no one will ever bother you again, least of all his friends."

"You don't know anything about me, man. You ain't a Disciple, so you don't know what it's like out there."

"No, but I know that revenge only leads to more revenge and even more revenge after that. I know that you were extremely lucky today and you need to take that as a sign to get out of the gang life. Make something of yourself before it's too late and you end up lying in a coffin. I know that the choices you made led to someone trying to kill you, which led to your friend being killed and my friend getting hurt. She's an innocent bystander, don't you care about that?"

"Sorry 'bout your friend, but she's not the first to get caught in a gang bang and she won't be the last."

"And that makes it okay, does it?"

Meteor was silent.

"How many people have you killed, Meteor? How many families have suffered because you had to uphold the Disciple's rep? Do you ever stop to think about the pain you caused?"

"You don't know a thing about it."

"On the contrary, I know plenty about it, much more than you think I do. I've seen people die, both the innocent and the guilty. I've also lost loved ones to violence, so I've been on both sides of the fence. Retaliation never works. The odds are against you. Melody here can help you. She can get you away from here and give you a new life, but you have to want it. Take my advice, accept the offer."

Meteor stared at him.

"Who are you?" he said.

"Yeah, who are you?" Melody added.

The Doctor smiled.

"I'm someone who has seen and done a lot, so I know what I'm talking about," he said. "Trust me, Meteor, if you've see enough death and violence, it'll change you forever. You are young. You need to think about finding someone to settle down with and raising a family, not killing and robbing, and drug running. Like I said, take this as a sign to get out."

"Can't."

"Why not?"

Can't ever leave the Disciples. Gang'll kill me."

"That's where Melody comes in."

Melody laid a hand on his shoulder.

"The Doctor's right. I can help you relocate, give you a new name, give you protection, if you'll just let us help you."

Meteor fell silent while he considered that.

"I want to, but…my mates…it's in the charter, you leave, you die."

The Doctor raised his eyebrow.

"Your gang has a charter?" he said.

"Yeah, most gangs do. Gotta lay out the rules, and chain of command, and whatnot."

The Doctor looked at Melody who nodded.

"It's true. Most large gangs write out a detailed list of rules and regulations and form a hierarchy to keep things under control. There's a ruling gang member, then the next lowest level, then the next until you finally get to the bulk of the gang who act as the foot soldiers. They sell the drugs, do the bulk of the killing, check up on the prostitutes working for them, that sort of thing. Each level reports to the next level and so on until you reach the top. The charter outlines that, among other things."

"And this charter says if you try to leave the gang, they'll kill you?" the Doctor said.

"Yeah, it's blood in, blood out. When you get initiated in, senior gang members beat you until they draw blood and if you try to leave…they kill you and leave you lyin' in a puddle of blood. Blood in, blood out."

"And you willingly agreed to this when you joined?"

Meteor frowned.

"The Disciples are my family."

The Doctor snorted.

"Some family. You commit unspeakable atrocities for them; ruin countless lives and the moment you want out, they shoot you dead. If that's how they define family, I'm glad I'm not a part of the clan."

"I don't have anything else."

"Yes, you do. You are young, smart, and resourceful. You have to be to survive in that atmosphere. You can use those traits and make a very good living, a legitimate living that doesn't involve hurting others. There is always a choice, Meteor, even in a situation like this. Let others help you, hide you. There is a chance you might die, but there's a bigger chance you might die working for them. What you are doing now amounts to slavery. You have to do what the gang leader wants, when he wants it done and if you don't, you die. That's no life for anyone, least of all someone bright like you. Please let Melody help."

Meteor looked at her.

"Can you help me?"

She smiled.

"It would be my pleasure," she said.

The Doctor grinned.

"I'm glad you're letting her help you, Meteor, or should I call you James now?"

He thought.

"Yeah, call me James."

The grin widened.

"Great, Meteor's kinda a silly name for a bloke. James is more distinguished. Had a companion once named James, well…Jamie, actually, one in a million, he was. But, anyway, I think you'll go far with a name like that."

The Doctor smiled when James yawned.

"Well, I can see you're exhausted, so I'll let you rest. I want you to make a full recovery so you can have a full life. I wish you the best of luck, James."

He nodded and closed his eyes. The Doctor looked at Melody.

"Can you give me background information on both gangs? I want to know all about them. I helped James here, now I want to help that cat and anyone else who wants out. These gangs are a menace, to the city and each other, and I want to see them eliminated."

Melody raised her eyebrows.

"Nice thought, Doctor, but what you want is impossible."

The Doctor gave her a manic grin.

"Ah, didn't I tell you? Impossible is my specialty," he said.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Dak drank a bottle of rum while he stared off into space. Ever since he got back to the headquarters he had been silent. His fellow pride members had noticed it but when they asked him what was wrong he didn't answer and moved away from them in order to get some privacy. Finally Scratch joined him outside on the porch.

"What's wrong?" he said sitting down beside him.

Dak handed him the rum and he took a swig.

"I found a couple of Disciples today and shot them," he said.

Scratch's face brightened.

"You did? Good job, Cubbie. Did you kill either of them?"

He shrugged.

"Dunno," he said taking the bottle back from him.

Scratch frowned.

"Hey, what's wrong with ya? You've been in a mood ever since you got back to the den."

Dak sighed.

"This man tried to stop me when I was shooting them. He tried to get the blaster away from me and it went off and hit a woman behind him."

"So?"

Dak was shocked.

"So, she was innocent, man," he said. "She just happened to be standing there when the blaster went off. She wasn't a Disciple."

Scratch sighed.

"Cubbie, you've been told before that sometimes there are casualties in war. The woman got in the way and got hit, well that's her problem. If she was stupid enough to stand there in the middle of a gang bang, she deserved to get shot. If you're gonna represent the Cats, you gotta learn to put your feelings aside and take care of business. You took out two filthy Disciples and that's what's important. And…if they die, you get to move up and be a lion, doesn't that excite ya?"

"Yeah," Dak muttered.

Scratch shook his head and let out an angry sigh.

"Get over your attitude, Dak, and quit throwing your damn pity party. No one cares about it, least of all me," he said getting to his feet.

He went back in and shut the door behind him while Dak continued to drink and stare off into space.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Doctor went back to the ward with Melody to check up on Rose. He noticed she was awake and he walked to her bedside muttering his apologies for leaving her.

"S'alright," she murmured. "I didn't expect ya to just sit here 24/7. Just as long as you're alright, that's all that matters to me."

"Rose, this is Melody. She works with the New, New York Gang Rehabilitation Center," he said.

Melody smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Rose. I'm sorry this happened to you."

"Nice to meet you as well and don't worry, I've had worse happen to me."

Once again, Melody was left to wonder exactly who these two were and what they had done that could have been worse than getting shot. She took her hand.

"How are you feeling?" she asked her.

"Better. I don't feel as weak. The wound itches a little though."

She frowned.

"The other two. Are they alright?" she said, concerned.

"One of them is, the other one died," Melody said.

"Oh God," Rose murmured. "They were both so young. All of them."

Melody nodded.

"Yes, they were. Luckily the Doctor managed to talk the survivor into leaving the gang life and making a new life for himelf. He also wants to help us clean up the gangs and get rid of the warfare which seems like an insurmountable task to me but he seems to think he can do it."

Rose laughed.

"That's the Doctor for ya. He loves a challenge."

The Doctor smiled at her fondly. He laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Rose I want to go with Melody to the gang rehabilitation center. Are you gonna be alright here?"

"Oh yeah, I'll be alright, Doctor. Just go ahead and do what you have to do."

He squeezed her shoulder.

"I'll be back to check up on you, count on that."

"Oh I know you will. You can't go two seconds without sticking your nose in my business," she teased.

Melody smiled when the Doctor chuckled and leaned over to give her a soft kiss on the forehead.

"Rest for me so we can go have some fun when you get well," he said.

"I will. Be careful."

"Always."

The Doctor rubbed her cheek and then turned and walked out of the Melody while Rose watched.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"This is it," Melody said as she and the Doctor entered the small block building on the outskirts of the downtown area. "This is where we have our headquarters."

The Doctor looked around. The walls were white plaster with inspirational posters on it and a large bulletin board that held various announcements. They walked up to a desk near the entrance where a heavyset woman in her late thirties set filling out paperwork. She looked up and smiled when they approached.

"This is Candice. Candice, this is the Doctor. He's visiting here today."

"Pleasure to meet ya," the Doctor said, shaking her hand.

"Same here. Is Doctor your street name?"

He chuckled.

"No, that's my name, honestly," he said. "I'm not a member of a gang but I would like to help get rid of them since they shot my friend and nearly killed her."

"Oh no, what happened?"

Melody explained it to her. Candice shook her head.

"My apologies, Doctor. I hope your friend recovers. Unfortunately she isn't the first one. We get non-gang members in here all the time needing our help because they've been through that exact same thing. I hope she gets well soon."

He smiled.

"Thanks."

"Oh, Mel, you have some messages here," she said, handing her several pieces of paper.

"Thanks. I'm gonna take our new friend on a quick tour so I'll get to these later."

Candice nodded and Melody motioned for the Doctor to follow her. They moved past reception down a hallway that had more inspirational posters on it and a framed picture of Melody and Candice standing with others that the Doctor figured were the rest of the staff. They were all standing outside the building with big smiles on their faces. She knocked on a closed door on her left and when no one answered she opened the door and led him inside.

"Our exam room," she said when they walked in.

The Doctor looked around the tiny room. It had posters showing the human body and one that talked about different venereal diseases and another that listed what to do if you were raped. In the center of the room was a padded exam table that had stirrups attached to it. By the door there was a counter and cabinets with antiseptic, tongue depressors and other medical implements on it. They looked around a moment and then she led him across the hallway to another closed door. She knocked on it and opened it. Inside was a bed with a pillow and pink comforter on it and on the other side of the room was a couple of leather chairs with a table between them. On the table was a small lamp some books and pamphlets. There were a few framed pictures on the wall of a sunset at the beach and animals in the jungle.

"This is a little room where our patients or their families can rest if they need to," she explained.

They walked back out and she led him down the hall to the next room on the left. They looked in and smiled when they saw a dark haired woman sitting at a desk in her office working.

"This is Betty," she said. "Betty, this is the Doctor."

"Hello there," Betty said. "Are you here for our services?"

"No, actually I'm volunteering to help."

Betty smiled broadly.

"Well, in that case, help all you want. We could always use it," she said.

He smiled and nodded.

"Just showing him around," Melody said.

"Well, welcome aboard."

"Thanks," the Doctor said.

They walked to the room across the way and she opened it to show him an empty office.

"This is mine," she said. "Please excuse my clutter."

He chuckled as he followed her farther down the hall. There were five other offices, a kitchen, a counseling room, a play room for children, a supply room and a bathroom with a walk in shower.

"Well, that's it," Melody said. "It's not huge but the majority of our work is done away from here. Going among the gangs and talking to them and making hospital visits like I did today. The only one who stays here all day is Candice. Betty is here just to file some paperwork and then she'll be going out too. But if you like we can have some coffee and I'll fill you in on the war between the Cats and the Disciples."

The Doctor nodded and followed her into the kitchen.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They sipped coffee while she talked to him.

"Basically it's been back and forth warfare since the humans came here," Melody said. "The humans needed a planet and they took this one over. It used to be called Felinia before they came and renamed it New Earth. That and the fact that the humans took most of the good jobs and pushed the majority of the cats into the poorer sections of the city helped to fan the flames and give birth to the Black Cat gangs. Like I said, these two aren't the only gangs but they are the biggest and most powerful and little by little they've been absorbing or eliminating the other weaker gangs. But all of them have the same goal in mind. The cats want the humans gone and the humans want the cats to leave the planet or accept their lower class status.

"But not all humans and cats are this way," the Doctor said.

"Oh no, there are humans and cats that get along fine and not all cats are lower class or poverty level. It's the ones who can't find any work and live in the slum areas that are resentful and their kids are the ones who are joining these gangs. The humans on the other hand recruit from all levels of human society. Most of them are bigots who are prejudiced against the cats although there are some who are in the gang because they have rough home lives with no support system but they're in the minority on the Disciples side. My parents came here about nine years ago so I wasn't around when they had the first exodus to the planet but like I said, I've seen the violence first hand and a group of friends and mine raised some money and brought this building and started this place so we could try to make a difference."

He smiled.

"I'm glad you did. That was very courageous of you and your friends to do that and stand up for what's right."

She smiled.

"Thanks. And courageous is the right word because everyone here except Candice has been shot at more than once. I've been shot at about five times now from gang members who are upset I'm trying to talk people into leaving the gang life. Another worker here, Michelle, was ambushed by a Cat and got stabbed in the stomach and spent several days in the hospital. We get constant death threats on the phone and there are people actively looking for the people we send into hiding. But it's worth it if it means someone has a chance to escape prison or death and make a new life for themselves."

The Doctor gave her a proud smile.

"I admire you for that. All of you," he said.

She blushed.

"Thanks. Listen, I'm about to go out on another run to try to talk to some gang members. Would you like to accompany me for awhile before going back to Rose? Perhaps someone knows the name of the Cat who shot her."

"I'd love to."

They finished up their coffee and went to use the bathroom before the Doctor followed Melody out to her car, got inside it with her and drove off.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

After awhile, Dak needed to get away from Scratch and the other gang members. He was still upset about the woman getting shot and it irritated him that the others didn't care about her or care that he was taking it so hard. Disciples were one thing but innocent bystanders weren't a part of the gang life and it wasn't fair that they should suffer when they had nothing to do with the war. He didn't buy Scratch's theory that all humans were guilty since everyone stole Felinia from them. He just wished he could find out for sure if the woman was dead or alive so he could soothe his troubled conscience.

He turned the corner and stopped when he saw someone familiar a few buildings away. She was one of the female cats who hung out with the gang and basically did things for them including prostituting herself for credits and mood patches. He had no respect for her or the other women like her but then he wasn't old enough to take full advantage of all she had to offer. She resembled a Siamese cat with tan fur and black markings on her face. She was wearing a red leather mini skirt and leather jacket with a white t-shirt and black thigh high boots with stiletto heels that Dak always thought looked impossible for someone to walk on. She was leaning up against the wall of one of the buildings looking around and Dak figured she was looking for a possible customer since a lot of the Black Cat's women also made extra cash prostituting themselves to the general public.

He tried to act casual as he walked by her but she recognized him immediately and called out his name. He turned and glared at her. He couldn't remember her name but then again, her name wasn't as important to the Black Cats as what she could do for them. He debated on whether he should just go on but the woman was already walking up to him.

"Out looking for buyers?" she asked, figuring he was selling mood patches for the gang.

"No. I needed to be alone," Dak said curtly, hoping she'd get the hint.

She didn't.

"Something ruffling your fur then?" she asked.

Dak stiffened when she stroked his cheek and backed away slightly.

"I may have killed a couple of Disciples today…and an innocent woman got shot too," he said, his eyes on the pavement.

"Good for you, cubbie," the woman said as she reached into her inner jacket pocket for her cigarettes and lighter. "Two less Disciples to worry about now."

"But what about the woman?"

"Was she human?"

"Yes."

"Then fuck her, one less human to worry about too," she said, lighting up her cigarette.

Dak glared at her while she took a long drag on her cigarette and winked at a male feline passerby.

"Need some company tonight, love?" she said to the man.

"No, I'm married, thank you very much," the man spat at her as he hurried past him. "Why don't you go find a real job?"

"Find me one that pays cats a living wage and I'll work it, Tabby," she spat back.

The man flipped her off and she snorted and took another drag on her cigarette.

"Pussy whipped, pardon the expression," she said to Dak. "One of the human's lackeys, I'm betting. Probably works for next to nothing just so he can have the privilege of rubbing noses with those bastards. Probably got loads of venereal diseases as well. Fuck him and those like him. I'd rather be a feral cat than some human's house pet."

Dak didn't say anything. He tried to quietly inch away so he could turn and walk away from the woman but she put her hand on his shoulder.

"Wait, I have some patches you can flog," she said, reaching into the pocket of her mini skirt. "Might as well do something productive while you're off havin' a think."

She handed him a handful of assorted mood patches. She took out a few more, picked through them, chose Ecstacy and attached it to her neck. A contented smile spread over her face and she breathed a sigh as she put the patches back.

"Now…get outta here before some Disciple decides he can get a two for one. Good luck with the patches and I'll see you back at the lair."

"Yeah," Dak muttered, glad she was giving him permission to leave.

He quickly turned and walked away while the woman went back to the wall and leaned back against it. He looked back and that's when he saw the car pull up. He paused a moment as he saw a young woman turn the car off and get out and then his eyes widened when he saw a man get out. It was the man that had been at the gang bang earlier. He ducked into an alley and stuck his head out of it. He saw the woman and man walk up to the woman who was giving them a suspicious look. He watched as the woman talked to the prostitute while the man listened. He suddenly had a feeling he knew who these people were. He knew about the people from the gang rehabilitation center who went around trying to get gang members off the streets. The man was with them? And the woman she shot perhaps. Guilt flooded his mind. The rehabilitation people meant well, they were only trying to help even if it was an empty gesture in the end but knowing the woman he shot might have been with them only fueled the guilt he felt. He thought about leaving before the man spotted him but curiosity killed the cat as they say and he waited until he was sure no one was looking before he hurried to the next alley. He wanted to hear what these people had to say and find out if they mentioned the woman and if she survived or not.

Meanwhile, the woman prostitute was getting angry at the woman who was trying to convince her to leave her life of prostitution and like the man said before her, get a proper job.

"Look," she said for the second time that day, "you show me a job that pays as well as prostitution and I'll take it. You know as well as I that the best jobs are reserved for the humans. If I had a way to get a good education and a better job, I'd take it but this is putting food in my belly so I'm gonna continue to do it."

"But, we can offer you assistance with that," Melody said. "We can give you job training and job placement if you'd agree to let us help you."

"You'd help me if you and your fucking kind left our fucking planet," the woman growled at her. "It was your coming here that brought poverty to my kind and your leaving the planet would solve all that."

"No, actually, it wouldn't."

The woman looked at the man and snorted.

"So sure of that, Skinny?" she said to him.

"Very sure. I know the history of Felinia and your kind weren't doing all that great to start with. That's why you let the humans settle here. You wanted the manpower as well as the income they brought with them. If the humans left, you'd be back to the old days when you were just as poor as you are now."

"That's a lie," the woman growled.

"What's your name?" the man said.

The woman hesitated and narrowed her slitted eyes for a moment.

"Sasha," she finally said. "What's yours?"

"The Doctor."

Her eyes narrowed further.

"Disciple?"

"No, that's my name. I'm not from New Earth."

"Then you have no idea what it's like living here."

"Oh, trust me," the Doctor said. "I know a lot about this planet and its people. I know that in the past, humans and cats worked together but something must have happened to tear that relationship apart."

"Yeah, something happened. It's called humans needing to feel superior to us," Sasha said. "Our kind was willing to work with the humans as you pointed out but they decided we'd be more useful as slave labor or servants. I suppose it was inevitable since this lot kept cats as house pets back on their old Earth," she added, gesturing to Melody.

"And instead of going out and protesting the treatment you've received from narrow minded humans and try to better yourself and your situation, you took the easy way out and the lure of fast and plentiful credits. Not to mention I spy a mood patch on your neck so I'm assuming drugs are part of it. You complain about the humans oppressing you and yet, you do nothing to fight the oppression. You do nothing except keep the stereotype alive that you and your kind are worthless, lazy opportunists who'll do anything for a quick credit. You demean yourself and your kind by selling your body for sex to anyone who'll pay, so you have no right to talk to me about how your kind has been enslaved when you're enslaving yourself here and now."

Dak had to admit the man was making good sense. Even though he was a human, he actually found himself liking the guy. He liked that what he said made Sasha fall silent and so far she hadn't found anything to say back to him. He wondered what would happen if he did approach these people and ask to leave the gang. Could they really protect him since for most people leaving the gang was a death sentence. He slowly came out of the alley and walked towards the Doctor. The Doctor caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head.

"You!" he said to Dak.

Dak froze, suddenly regretting his decision but the Doctor held up his hand while Melody and Sasha watched.

"It's alright, I won't hurt you, I'm the Doctor," he said to him. "And before you say anything, it's not my gang name."

"The woman I shot, is she dead?" Dak asked.

"No, she's in hospital. She's going to be alright but one of the gang members you shot didn't make it."

Guilt flooded Dak's mind. He suddenly felt like the little kid he really was. The Doctor noticed his guilt and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You did a terrible thing today but you can make up for it by helping us," the Doctor said gently.

"No, Dak, don't tell them anything. They're nothing but stinking humans," Sasha said.

"How old are you?" the Doctor said.

"Eleven."

"You think it's perfectly alright for an eleven year old to kill, do you?" the Doctor said to Sasha.

"You and your kind have killed us, we're just returning the favor," she spat back. "He has no one at home who gives a shit about him. That's why he joined the Black Cats, so he could have a family."

"Is that true?" the Doctor asked Dak.

"I s'pose so. I don't think anyone loves me," Dak replied.

"But surely you know that killing and drug running is wrong, yeah? I can tell that much from the way you showed concern for Rose. You're just a kid. You should be out playing, not shooting people in the streets."

Dak knew he was right but he still had enough pride to just shrug at that. Melody came up beside the Doctor.

"Would you like to leave the Black Cats? If you want that, Dak, we can make it happen," Melody said. "We can even place you with a foster family if your old family is abusing you."

Dak looked at Sasha who was trying to tell him not to go with them.

"Is Shredder finds out, you'll never be safe," Sasha said.

"Who's that then?" the Doctor said to her.

"The leader of the Black Cats," Dak said.

"If we can protect you from Shredder, will you come with us?" the Doctor said.

"You won't tell if I go with them, will you?" Dak asked Sasha.

"Are you fucked in the head, of course I'll tell. I'm not gonna get a beating for keeping my mouth shut."

"And once again, you've just demonstrated to us all how much of a slave you really are," the Doctor said to her.

"Fuck you, human. I'd rather be a slave and be rich than be free and be poor or a house pet. Let the wimp go with you, I don't give a fuck. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go be a slave and earn some money. See ya in Hell, fuckers!"

They watched as she quickly hurried away, hissing at people to get out of her way so she could put as much distance between herself and them as fast as possible. They watched her go and then they turned their attention back to Dak.

"Can I go see Rose?" Dak said to the Doctor. "I want to apologize to her."

"You may. Will you help us as well by giving us some information so we can help end the gang wars before anymore innocent people get shot?"

Dak thought about that for a moment and nodded. The Doctor patted him on the shoulder and Melody took his hand as they walked back to the car.


End file.
